We have entered the stretch of the season where fortunes and moods can swing with severe bipolarity, and the Islanders are experiencing that in full by following a six-game win streak with back-to-back shutout losses to conclude a once-promising road trip.
The latest insult was a 4-0 loss in Buffalo to the Sabres, who are going through one of their periodic mini-spurts that lead people to say, “Man, one day this team could be good.”
Lots of other playoff bubble-chasing teams were in action and collecting points, so it was a costly Thursday night.
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They survived the first period with a 0-0 tie, but the signs were there that it was going to be a rust-laden night if the Isles didn’t show life coming out of the first intermission.